Bruins' Ryan Donato shaping up

Saturday

Jul 12, 2014 at 8:33 PMJul 12, 2014 at 8:34 PM

Ryan Donato felt pretty good about himself as he made the rounds at the NHL Draft Combine this spring.

By Dan CagenDaily News staff

WILMINGTON — Ryan Donato felt pretty good about himself as he made the rounds at the NHL Draft Combine this spring.The Scituate native had plenty of on-ice skills that made him worthy of being a high selection of an NHL club a month later. Then he had his interviews with team scouts and executives who had been taking a microscope to him."It was brought to my attention that we did challenge him in the interview in terms of the type of player and gaps in his game," Bruins assistant general manager Don Sweeney said. "And most times you have to call a spade a spade. You know, you've seen a player play and you have to get him to understand he has areas of his game that he has to work on."It still didn't take long for Donato to hear his name called at the draft in Philadelphia last month. The Bruins picked him in the second round, 56th overall.Still, Donato, the 18-year-old son of former Bruin and current Harvard coach Ted Donato, listened to his flaws from the higher-ups — he wasn't very good playing off the puck, his defense was sloppy and he wasn't in shape to play with men.The first two will require years of practice. He got right to work on the latter."I think after talking to a lot of teams, I kind of got a switch flipped," Donato said. "I don't know how to describe it. I got hungrier than I've been."Or rather, less hungry. Donato has begun dieting, and working with local trainer Matt Lombardi, who played at Boston College, Donato has begun shaping his body. On Twitter, Lombardi proudly shows photos of Donato climbing fences, doing push-ups and lifting weights."Just being hungry and being focused were the things he focused on the most," Donato said. "I've only been working out with him for 13 weeks and my body's already changed so much. If I can do that for 2-3 years, I just think the jumps in my game are going to be a lot bigger than they already have."Jumps in his game are a hot topic for Donato right now. There are plans for him to play for his father at Harvard beginning with the 2015-16 season, although Donato hasn't gotten accepted through the pearly doors yet.For the past three seasons, Donato has attended prep school at the Dexter School in Brookline. He's posted monster numbers in the NEPSAC — 37 goals, 41 assists in 30 games last winter — and staying at Dexter would enhance his chances of getting to Harvard.It may not be his best hockey path. Donato's USHL rights are owned by the Omaha Lancers. Playing juniors would let Donato be tested and develop at a faster rate. A soft whetstone does not leave a razor sharp."Obviously the competition [in development camp] is a lot higher than I'm used to facing," Donato said. "Today, the competition was high. Playing with better players is only going to make my game better and I just played with them. The energy was high."Dan Cagen can be reached at 508-626-3848 or dcagen@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanCagen.